Connecticut foreclosure filings grew more slowly in April compared with the previous month, according to a report released today, but still remain at record levels and are 34 percent higher than in April of last year.

The number of properties with filings in April rose 4.4 percent to 2,915, up from 2,793 in March, according to RealtyTrac, the foreclosure tracking firm, in its monthly report of national and state-by-state foreclosure trends.

Connecticut's foreclosure filings had soared 22 percent from February to March.

While the smaller increase is encouraging, a troubling number of residential borrowers are still falling behind on their monthly payments. The state has added jobs for three straight months through March, but unemployment still remains high, putting stress on household budgets.

And foreclosure filings in Connecticut are still rising compared with the nation as a whole.

The number of properties repossessed by banks in Connecticut in April was 600, down 21 percent from 757 in March, but still 67 percent higher than the 360 in April of last year.

In April, properties with foreclosure filings nationally fell 9 percent compared with the previous month and 2.4 percent from April 2009, according to RealtyTrac. Repossessed properties rose to a record high.

In Connecticut, 1 in 495 households had a filing, well above 1 in 387 for the nation as a whole.

Connecticut ranks 16th highest in the ratio of filings to households among all states.

Last week, the General Assembly passed a bill to extend the state's foreclosure mediation program for two years and cracked down on lenders and servicers who aren't ready to negotiate when they attend mediation sessions.

The governor is expected to sign the bill into law.

RealtyTrac's monthly report takes a different measure of troubled borrowers from the one released quarterly by the Mortgage Bankers Association. RealtyTrac examines lis pendens, auction notices and filings by lenders when they repossess a property. The Mortgage Bankers Association tracks mortgages in various stages of delinquency and in the foreclosure process.

Foreclosure filings are now being driven primarily by borrowers who have lost their jobs, many of them with good credit histories until the recession.

Reprinted with permission of the Hartford Courant.
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